Macroevolutionary trends of brain mass in primates
Nenhuma Miniatura disponível
Data
2020
Título da Revista
ISSN da Revista
Título de Volume
Editor
Resumo
A distinctive trait in primate evolution is the expansion in brain mass. The potential drivers of this trend and how and
whether encephalization influenced diversification dynamics in this group are hotly debated. We assembled a phylogeny
accounting for 317 primate species, including both extant and extinct taxa, to identify macroevolutionary trends in
brain mass evolution. Our findings show that Primates as a whole follow a macroevolutionary trend for an increase
in body mass, relative brain mass and speciation rate over time. Although the trend for increased encephalization
(brain mass) applies to all Primates, hominins stand out for their distinctly higher rates. Within hominins, this unique
trend applies linearly over time and starts with Australopithecus africanus. The increases in both speciation rate and
encephalization begin in the Oligocene, suggesting the two variables are causally associated. The substitution of early,
stem Primates belonging to plesiadapiforms with crown Primates seems to be responsible for these macroevolutionary
trends. However, our findings also suggest that cognitive capacities favoured speciation in hominins
Descrição
Palavras-chave
ECV, Search trend, Speciation rate, Extinction rate, Macroevolution, Primates, RRphylo
Citação
MELCHIONNA, M. et al. Macroevolutionary trends of brain mass in Primates. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, Oxford, v. 129, n. 1, p. 14-25, 2020. DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blz161. Disponível em: https://academic.oup.com/biolinnean/article/129/1/14/5614248. Acesso em: 16 jun. 2023.